It was already 3:00 AM. Outside was still dark and full of stars. Down on the street, noises from vehicles had quietened down. Although to Anubis, who was lying on his paws on the soft, large bed in the highest apartment in the city, those noises somehow still managed to find a way to bother his keen ears. His two triangle ears kept twitching, but not only because he wanted to silence all the disturbance.

Anubis was strangely on tenterhooks that night. He had been trying to sleep for hours. Every time he closed his eyes, something would swirl up inside him and jolted him awake again. No matter how determined he was to put that feeling off, it just seemed to get worse. It was like a sign alarming him not to enter the world of dreams. Nightmares were also dreams. And Anubis hated them. Extremely.

Despite that, he knew he had to rest. He had been assigned a mission the following day. If he hadn't gotten any sleep, exhaustion would weaken his senses and stiffen his muscle. He wouldn't have full access to his abilities and might fail his mission. He didn't enjoy the thought of upsetting Sephiria if he failed. Although to be fair, she probably wouldn't make any big deal out of it.

Mentioning Sephiria, she had been sitting in her office since midnight. Her office was right next to his room – their bedroom, to be precise – so that she wouldn't have to go far to finally set her back on the soft bedsheets and call it a day. But as expected from his captain, her devotion to work was driving her to her limits. Since the day he moved in with her, Anubis had been amazed at how Sephiria handled mountains of Chronos's problems. Once, he had made an attempt to stay up with her through the night until she finished. Eventually, even with his wolf's strength, he could only keep his eyes opened until 4:30 in the morning. That night, Sephiria had to carry him to bed with her. His captain sure had a lot of strengths lying beneath her graceful outlook.

After that, Sephiria told him to get to bed first. Trying to stay up with her could affect his health, which was something very crucial for a number, so she didn't want him to do such a pointless activity. Additionally, she would be able to be more concentrated on her work if she was left alone. Having listened to her reasons, Anubis found himself having nothing to go against them. Sephiria was under no obligation to take him in and take care of him, but she did it anyway the moment she got informed about his poor living condition. He still remembered the disgusted look she held when she first visited the place where Chronos kept him captive. Titan bars, Orichalcum chains and a small space covered in cement were definitely not what she had expected. It'd been forever since he last heard her commanded people in such a cold and emotionless tone. They had known each other for a very long time, dated back to the day Sephiria's height only touched his shoulders' blades. Despite being unable to have frequent chances of meeting, he was positive that violence, ironic as it sounded, was something foreign to her nature. However, in that situation, Anubis had no doubt if what she had received was a "No", she would have cut down those annoying bars along with the heads of his former keepers without second thoughts. He would be more than delightful to be an enthusiastic audience.

His life had taken an unimaginable turn from that day. Sephiria decided to move to another apartment of hers that's closer to the center park in order that he could roam in there freely whenever he was off mission. Every dinner was a different, beautiful and delicious memory. Actually, being a wolf made it unnecessary for him to join the meal. Pigeons and rabbits were always available in the park, considering the fact that it was so large it could be deemed as a modest forest. However, having to endure the hunger caused by all amazing smells from the kitchen anytime the dinner was being prepared was pure torture for his bottomless stomach. So it had now become his code not to miss dinner.

Sephiria's cooking talent took him by complete surprise. She was truly the definition of a perfect captain. There were various sides of her that only came out during their private time together. But what both bewildered and humored him most must be her reason for not showing them publicly. On being asked, she simply stated that she was too lazy to prove herself in fields which she could have someone else take on instead. "An easy way to avoid a lot of troubles", she admitted.

Nevertheless, out of all the things that rejoiced his life, her adoring gestures were no doubt his most favorite. If physical contacts were major means to express emotions in their utmost genuineness of the animal world, those of the two numbers would be a dictionary on endearment. From the day he entered this life, never had he felt such a special bond towards any beings. He cherished her gentle strokes above any delectable food, and the glow in her eyes whenever he was near was treasure to him. Occasionally, there were kisses on his cheeks as well. However, Anubis had his image to keep, even only to himself. He was still a fearsome wolf by birth. Prideful creatures liked his kind couldn't allow to enjoy such an embarrassing act.

Arghh..., how unbearably disturbing to recall her smile every time she noticed a surge of electricity ran from his head to tail and his breathing fastened quickly after those moments.

Suddenly, Anubis felt his mouth opening to yawn. It seemed that being lost in happy thoughts had eventually done him some good. Shifting himself for the last time, he hoped, Anubis slowly let the eyelids shut. A mission was still waiting to be finished. When he managed to execute it, maybe he would get the chance to laugh at Jenos's envy face as Sephiria praised him on his success. The poor guy was always complaining about their captain's partiality for Anubis. Sadly, Jenos was no charmer to women, even his sister.

Sleepiness started to take over him as a good sign of a peaceful rest. Finally, Anubis could free himself from endless distress this time to drown in the serene darkness.

He just didn't expect it to last so short.

As soon as rays of light turned up, the lovely bed under him disappeared. Instead of the cozy feeling of a blanket against his belly, all he felt was hard, cold rock. Anubis moved his head and immediately the roar of chains reached his ears. Tiredly opening his eyes, he could spot where the lights came from. They were flickering through the spaces between those titan bars in front of him. It took him seconds to get used to how bright they were. The lights were dazzlingly white and unlike sunlight, they didn't radiate any warmth.

His memories struck him. He was being checked. The lights belonged to a black flashlight which he would see every night, at the same hour, only in the hands of different people. The security guy visited his cage to make sure that he was well-restrained. Anubis wasn't a very good boy and obviously his reputation had been known by all the staff working here. Whether they were rookies or experienced ones.

His entire body seemed so small. No surprise, as this was the world of twenty years ago. Anubis hadn't grown to his full size back in those days. He aged differently from his peers. Anubis's muscle developing process had been slowed down considerably because of the experiments which Chronos forced on him. It was a chain of complicated and terrible experiments to create a body that would be able to withstand any injuries inflicted on it. In order to achieve that final goal, the scientists had to enhance the subject's regenerating ability and suppress his aging.

Anubis was the only successful subject at the time. He would grow much slower but his life span could even surpass that of a human being. Additionally, Anubis would always stay in great health if he had a reasonable training timetable. He was definitely expected to be Chronos's perfect biological weapon.

However, for the ambition of replacing the organization's precious human numbers in demanding missions, the scientists knew no limits. It would be better for all to put an end to the project which empowered Anubis with incredible physical traits. Instead, they prolonged it to modify his last untouched organ, the brain. Those lunatics often seemed to have the happiest time of their life trying to bend the laws of nature.

And so, with his excellent cognitive capacity, yet trapped in the soul of a wolf, Anubis became an untamable beast. He usually used his fangs and claws to rip his trainers' throats off rather than to attack his real targets. He remembered their habits and fears, which helped him to plot several plans to trick them into making way for his escapes.

Unfortunately, none of his attempts had ever succeeded. Despite the staff's passive states, they only resorted in more and more physical punishments and starvation for him. After various nights of having only water to survive, Anubis had his lesson learned. His desire to discover the outside world subsided as he came to accepting what he was given. An exit leading to the place where sky was colored in shades other than grey and no chains were in his line of sight just sunk into blurriness with each hours passed.

Anubis used to see those other subjects who conceded defeat towards all the miseries laid upon them by humans as ignominious cowards. Not until then, when the feeling of fatigue drained every fiber of his being out to its last bit of strength, when his instinct's screaming for food was the sole thought occupying his mind, did he understand how much agony was hidden behind their helpless eyes as they listened to the sound of the meaning for their existences were being shattered into pieces because of their own indispensable needs.

But acknowledging the truth wasn't accompanied with the acceptance of that tragic fate. Anubis was well aware of his potential and not going to waste it on spending his life in a tiny cage throughout days, putting up with those stupid and cruel people. If it had been for power that they put him in there, it would also be power that brought him out. Becoming the last one standing in every battles, regardless of how severe his injuries might get, soon enough, he was entrusted with the number VI tattoo. Due to his relationship with Sephiria, it was just the matter of time before her attention was back on him. As expected from number I, the representative of the Elders, nothing stood a chance to challenge her absolute authority. The entire staff at that facility was immediately replaced. Although the rest of the subjects would stay there for good by the order of Chronos, at least under such strict supervision along with much better care, their lives were surely to be improved.

Stopping his reminiscence and realizing he probably just got into yet another nightmare, Anubis ignored the lights and shut his eyes once more. He tried his best to put aside the yelling from the security guy in hope that his surroundings would again return to nothingness. However, his sharp ears caught a cracking sound, which informed him that his cage was being opened.

Anubis still stubbornly refused to look.

The sound of angry footsteps ramming on the ground just getting clearer and more threatening by minutes.

His instincts kicked in furiously, urging him to wake up.

And strangely, all the noises died down. A sudden silence covered his surrounding.

This time Anubis's golden orbs did shoot open.

No one was standing there, only a giant silver bludgeon, teared through the air, and plunged down brutally on his head.